A Pressure I like
by BrokenAria
Summary: Lucy is looking for a boyfriend but Natsu torches every chance she gets. Natsu is severely confused and Gray is in denial. Erza tries to help Natsu but fails miserably. While insanity is slowly affecting the entire world because of an old magic. LxG ExN
1. Natsu vs Lucy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

**Author's Note: I don't have much to say other than that a lot of unexpected stuff is going to happen and a lot of expected things too. So come with me on this journey into my imagination and I hope you enjoy the trip.  
**

Chapter One:

Lucy stormed through the guild doors and stomped to the bar. Natsu burst in seconds after going straight to the other side of the room.

"What the?" Gray stared at the scene in amazement. Usually Natsu and Lucy came back from missions joking around like idiots with huge toothy smiles on their faces. This time they seemed a little less chummy. Gray sighed. "Natsu must have done something."

"I didn't do anything!" Natsu shouted from across the room. Great sense of hearing . . . .

_Which obviously means you did._ Gray thought.

Lucy thunked her head on the counter. Mirajane placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "what exactly did Natsu do this time?" Mirajane asked softly. Lucy didn't respond. She expected Natsu to do it for her, plus she was just too depressed to even lift her face.

"I didn't do anything!" Natsu shouted again. "She's overreacting!" He growled and gruffly jumped up from the table that he was sitting at and dramatically jumped over to Lucy. "What is your problem?!" He pointed accusingly at her.

Everyone in the room went deathly silent as Natsu stood there waiting to be answered. The awkward silence grew heavier as Natsu stood there but there was no sign that Lucy even noticed he said anything.

Then Lucy snapped. Literally, everyone in the room heard a physical-like snap or crackle in the air. Gray and Mirajane slowly looked at each other then back at the impending danger.

"I have a problem?!" She demanded. "You embarrassed me so much! Then you have the tenacity to ask ME what MY problem is! Every time Natsu! Every time a guy asks me out or shows any interest at all, you do something that completely utterly embarrasses me!" She waved her arms dramatically, really getting into what she was shouting, while Natsu stood open mouthed and astonished. "I could accept this once or twice . . . maybe! But this one was too much! He asked me out on a date! Do you know how long it has been since I've been on a date?!" Lucy cocked an eyebrow furiously.

Natsu stared at her, bewildered. "Long . . . . . ?" Natsu answered like a small child trying to appease her anger.

Lucy shook her head. "AND what do you do after I get this chance?" She demanded once again.

"Torch him . . . . . . " Natsu looked down guiltily.

"Mmm-hmm ." Lucy agreed, "and yet I'm still wondering why?" If Lucy were the fire mage instead of Natsu, it would be likely that she'd be burning a ferocious inferno.

Natsu thought for a moment then snapped out of his daze. "He was an enemy!" Natsu huffed smoke from his nostrils.

Lucy closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "The mission was already executed! He had nothing to do with it anymore! Then you put him in the hospital!" Lucy took a deep shaky breath, calming herself down. "Do you really like hurting me this much?" She asked, her bottom lip trembling.

Natsu took a step forward towards her. _No! Not at all! _Natsu thought, but for some reason his mouth wouldn't respond.

An angry tear formed in her eye.

Natsu barely advanced another step when Gray stepped between Lucy and him.

"Move!" Natsu shouted into Gray's face. Instead of being provoked like Natsu thought Gray would be he actually looked rather calm.

"Just wait until she cools off." Gray said at a barely audible level. "Then patch things up, okay?"

Natsu set his jaw. "Fine then! Be angry! I guess caring about your safety is a bad thing!" Natsu pushed through the crowd of people to the door. He jerked it open and darted out without looking back.

Lucy slid back into the bar stool. She put her head down on the counter and weaved her arms over her head.

The crowd dissipated slowly, leaving only Mirajane and Gray hovering. Gray took a seat next to Lucy and Mirajane started cleaning glasses while keeping a steady concerned eye on Lucy.

Tears rolled down Lucy's eyes. Man, did she feel bad for yelling at him like that . . . but he did deserve it. It was like he enjoyed making her life miserable. Lucy just turned eighteen. Old enough to marry but as Aquarius had stated many times . . . many, many times. Lucy didn't even have a boyfriend. Well Loki liked her a lot but it was just too complicated to have a relationship with a stellar spirit. No matter how much you liked them back.

Gray shifted next to her and she lifted her red puffy face at him. He had a mission paper in hand. "Okay I know you had problems with Natsu on your missions but maybe you might have more luck with me." Gray averted his face slightly embarrassed. "That is er- if you want to?"

Lucy pondered for a second. _How much worse can Gray be? _

Gray looked at her unable to understand what she was thinking. Finally Lucy closed her eyes and opened them. "Let's do it!" She attempted an excited expression.

"Better," Gray stated at her reaction. "Now, we better get going."

Lucy nodded. _What am I getting myself into?_ She said smiling up at him.

_Damn. Why am I going to this extreme? _Gray asked himself.

_You wanted her to be happy._ Gray answered himself. _She's my friend._Gray mused with the word friend. It didn't sound like the right word for the way he felt about Lucy. He felt protective of her. Sometimes even possesive. Like he needed her._ But why do I get flustered every time she looks at me with those chocolate brown eyes. _Gray studied her face. His pulse sped up drastically. _I just don't know . . . . . . _


	2. Sanity

Chapter Two:

"So you haven't told me all the specifics yet." Lucy said looking over at Gray, finding it somewhat hard to move in the small backseat of a horse drawn carriage. Gray struggled to turn to face her.

Their knees got stuck together as Gray successfully turned his entire body towards her. Both of them blushed and normally would have turned away but neither wanted to risk further entanglement. "Well," gray started. "We were hired to be body guards for a class of young mages and their teacher. We're to escort them on their field trip into a particularly dangerous forest. The reward is decent but I highly doubt the mission will be that dangerous. Plus it's only for about three days so there is nothing to worry about." Gray nonchalantly cleared his throat but his face was a rosy pink.

Lucy laughed lightly. Although to Gray she still sounded somewhat stressed. "So is it dangerous or not?" She joked lamely. She sounded so drained compared to her normal uppity self that the joke fell awkwardly.

"Who knows," he shrugged.

Lucy opened her mouth like she was about to say something but the horse driver beat her to it. "'Kay folks," the burly man said in a strong accent. " 'S time 'ta geht owt."

Lucy and Gray fumbled to get to the door on Gray's side. After awhile of no progress and a few warnings from the driver. Lucy started to crawl over Gray because he was taking too long. Her low cut shirt plus her exposed chest were right in front of his face.

Gray felt his pants get a little tighter. His eyes widened in surprise. _What the hell?_ He demanded in his head. _It's just Lucy! Don't be stupid!_

"Lucy," he said simply.

"Oh sorry." She apologized. "I'm almost out."

Now her butt was in his face.

He closed his eyes.

_It's just Lucy... It's just Lucy... It's just Lucy... _He chanted to himself.

Once they were finally out of the carriage Lucy spotted a building across the dirt road. Gray started taking off his clothes as they made their way across the road. Lucy looked over at him. "What are you doing?" She asked not really surprised.

He worked his way out of his white jacket. "Hmmm?"

Lucy looked away. "Never mind." Then she looked back at him after thinking for a second. "Just keep your pants on. There are probably girls in there."

Gray pursed his lips. "Well it's their choice whether they look or not." He took off his black undershirt then shot a look at Lucy that practically said 'what are you gonna do about it?'

Lucy sighed. "Whatever."

Lucy knocked on the door to the somewhat shabby looking building. "Hello!" She called out.

After a few moments the door swung open to reveal a beautiful woman probably in her thirties. She had long wavy brown hair and light almost translucent violet eyes that had a fierce set to them. 

_She looks a little feisty._ Gray thought.

"Hello," she spoke with a voice that sounded arrogant and intense.

She ran her eyes over the two of them and raised her eyebrows when she noticed Gray's lack of clothing. Then she noticed his Fairy Tail signature on his right peck. "Fairy Tail I presume?" She nodded to Gray's chest and Lucy's hand.

"I'm Lucy," Lucy said and outstretched her hand and the woman met it.

"I am Jeanette." She smiled but Lucy thought that it looked a little evil.

_I'm just paranoid._ Lucy thought but her gut feeling said otherwise.

"Hey," Gray spoke, sounding slightly bored. "I'm Gray and we're here to accept the body guard job."

Jeanette smiled another acidy smile. "Great. Everyone is ready to go."

- - - - -

**Back At Fairy Tail . . . . .**

Natsu was sitting on one of the bar stools spinning as fast as he could, which to everyone else looked like a pink and yellow blur. It was an attempt to stop thinking about Lucy and unfortunately it wasn't quite working. He felt guilty for making her cry but other than that he felt as if he hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't really his fault that Lucy attracted weird men. Plus why was she so mad? It was just a date with someone. Not like she was looking for a boyfriend or anything . . . Or was she?

Natsu started literally pulling his hair out. _It's not _my _fault._ He thought stubbornly.

"Are you okay Natsu?" Erza asked as she sat next to him. She stared at him waiting for an answer that he wasn't willing to give. "Does it have to do with Lucy and you getting in a fight?" Her unwavering gaze still burning into his.

"How do you . . . . ?" Natsu gave up asking. Everyone was talking about it. "It wasn't really a fight. She just sorta yelled at me."

Erza shook her head. "Can you blame her? Lucy just turned eighteen didn't she? She's old enough to marry now but she still hasn't got a boyfriend. She's been controlled by her father her entire life, plus he sends out marriage proposals from men all the time. He would likely stop if Lucy had a boyfriend." Erza sighed heavily. "It's something she's probably really sensitive about."

Natsu blew smoke from his nose. "It's not my fault that Lucy chooses the bad guys to go after!"

Erza met his eyes again. "Were they really all that bad?"

"Yeah." Natsu spoke sounding slightly unsure.

Erza took a deep breath as if she were trying to find the right words to say. "Are you sure that you just don't want Lucy to be with another guy?"

"What?!" Natsu jumped up from the stool. "What are you talking about?!"

"Calm down all I'm saying is that maybe you _like_ Lucy." Erza spoke with a sound of authority.

"Of course I like Lucy! She's my partner and one of my nakama!" Natsu shouted louder than he intended.

"Not like that. I mean like maybe you wanted to be Lucy's boyfriend." Erza said calmly.

Natsu set his jaw. "She's my friend." The way he said it sounded rehearsed.

Erza sighed again. "Whatever. Just come with me." She grabbed him and dragged him out the doors. Everyone in the room looked after the two of them thinking that they had completely lost all the sanity either of them had left.


	3. Awkward Tears

**Author's Note: Hey! Hope you've liked this story so far. Not that I'd know though D: Please don't be shy to review even if it's criticism I'd love to here all feedback, kay?**

Chapter Three:

"W-where are you taking me Erza?!" Natsu shouted slightly choking because she was dragging him by his scarf. Erza had no intention of answering, she even sped up her pace. "First you accuse me of stupid stuff! Then you drag -" Natsu cut off because his scarf choked him tighter. "Would you just stop!" He yelled really loud.

Erza stopped and let go of his scarf, wondering if she really should have let go of him. "I'm sorry." She said sounding sympathetic.

Natsu was slightly caught off guard he hadn't expected Erza to stop. He had no idea what to say, almost as if his train of thought completely disappeared.

"You do like - er - love Lucy don't you?" Erza asked scratching the side of her arm nervously. Natsu had never seen this side of Erza before she just looked so vulnerable. Natsu felt like it was his fault just like last time with Lucy. He felt so guilty . . . .

"Ugh!" Natsu threw his arms up in the air. "I have no idea anymore!" Natsu heaved a heavy breath. "She doesn't want me! Okay! She'd rather be with some creep! Probably Gray even! Hell! Everyone knows he wants her!" Natsu blew more smoke out. "I don't know why . . ." He said sounding calmer. "Igneel left me. Lucy did too. Am I just not good enough for anyone!" Natsu felt a hot tear roll down his cheek. He reached up and touched it. How long had it been since he cried?

Natsu felt a huge metal crash into him. At first he didn't know what it was, then he took a double over in his head. _Erza . . ._

Erza hugged Natsu as tightly as she could. Even if it caused him pain. She knew he must've been keeping that in for a really long time. "It's okay Natsu . . . ." She crooned not much louder than a whisper.

To Natsu it felt a little awkward. But soon tears started pouring from his eyes. He pushed Erza away from him. "I'm sorry." He said and sprinted away as fast as he could. He had know idea where he'd go. Maybe he'd go nowhere. Just keep running until he couldn't remember anything anymore. No more Igneel. No more Lucy. No more Fairy Tail. No more Erza . . . .

More tears stung his eyes. _Just fucking stop already!_ He screamed in his head at the tears but there was no response and he started feeling lonely again. _It's probably better this way . . ._


	4. Guilt

Chapter Four:

Jeanette had introduced four mages-in-training. The first and youngest was a little girl named Marie. She was nine years old and cute to boot. Marie had long golden wavy hair and crystal green eyes, she was also slightly short for her age. Marie's magic was kind of cool. Whenever Marie sang something, the earth would respond. Sometimes flowers would grow or chunks of rocks would quiver and float for a few seconds. The second was a boy named Gregory, but he was more of a Greg, whom was twelve years old. He had shaggy black hair and wild green eyes. Kind of like a Gray in the miniature, just with different eye color. Greg had the ability to sway emotions but, for the time being he could only just make people angry. It was ironic how the most passionate of the bunch could control emotions. The third mage-in-training was named Damien, he's thirteen years old. Damien had blond hair and black; hard eyes. Jeanette and even Damien himself were unsure of what his magic was. All they knew was that when Damien was around - things happened. The last of the bunch was a ten year old girl named Eve. She had short brown hair and matching eyes. Eve was the shyest of the bunch and Lucy was surprised when she found out that Eve's ability was ex-equipping like Erza's. The girl didn't look it, though. Lucy had assumed that most ex-equip users were tenacious and aloof like Erza. Although, from what Lucy noticed this girl didn't like to talk about herself, well at all even. She was more of an inner passionate person, that of which she had in common with Erza.

After a long ride (in a much larger carriage) they were at the edge of a huge forest. The trees towered high into the sky and blotted out the sun, leaving a dark shadow cast over it's entirety. Lucy's gut gave another uneasy protest.

"That looks pretty creepy, Teach." Greg muttered to Jeanette. Jeanette just waved her hand as if to say "think nothing of it."

Gray sighed/ groaned when he looked out the window. They were going to have to spend three nights in that hellish looking forest. He let his mind wander to things such as sleeping in close corners with Lucy. A sly grin played across his face. Then he mentally slapped himself. _Quit thinking of Lucy like that._ He chastised himself. _You're an animal!_ He added when another; dirtier thought of Lucy appeared.

The carriage slowed to a stop and they all started filing out. Gray practically slapped himself when he watched Lucy maneuver her butt out the door. Heck, he even wanted to slap Lucy's butt while he was at it. Gray's eye started to twitch as he looked looked away for the rest of the show. Man, did he want to watch it though.

After the carriage left, the seven of them started towards the thicket. Jeanette had so nicely announced that part of the field trip was actually hiking. Gray really didn't feel like walking though. It took up too much energy and was boring as hell. A few minutes into the hike Gray felt a tug on the side of his pants, almost pulling them down. Gray instinctively patted away the hand, he took off his own clothes thank you very much.

"Excuse me." Mini-Gray said in a hushed voice. Gray looked down at the little black haired mage-in-training.

"Yes?" Gray asked looking away.

"You like that girl, Lucy, right?" Greg asked innocently, but Gray turned and glared daggers down at the kid.

"How- wait why do you think that?" Gray thought carefully. He hadn't done anything at all to show that.

"I can sense emotions." The boy stated proudly. "Plus the way you looked at her ass with that hungry look on your face, anyone could tell."

A sick red blush spread across Gray's cheeks. "Watch your mouth, little boy!"

Greg just laughed and sped ahead to where Lucy was walking. He sent a look back at Gray, then touched Lucy's butt. Lucy yelped surprisingly loud and Gray's jaw dropped. Lucy turned and looked down at Mini-Gray and patted his head lightly, but in a way it looked violent - forced.

_Low blow, man._ Gray thought while shaking his head. _Low blow._

Jeanette lectured Greg on etiquette and other "gentle-manly" things. Gray and Lucy found it oddly entertaining. Mainly, though, because he deserved it. The boy was working his magic - he could definitely make people angry.

- - - - - -

After they had been walking for awhile Lucy walked over to Marie.

"Hey, Marie." Lucy greeted as she waved down at the little girl.

"Hiya!" Marie smiled up into Lucy's face. "You wanna see something cool?" Marie asked in her melodic voice. Lucy nodded, returning her grin. Marie held up her hands to show Lucy something. Lucy looked down and saw an acorn and lifted a curious eyebrow. Marie shook her head and lowered the acorn to her eyes. Then Marie started singing a lovely song in another language.

A skinny vine poked out of the acorn and slowly grew to life. Lucy stared at the vine in amazement. "That's awesome!" Lucy exclaimed. "I wish I could do something that cool!"

Marie stopped singing and looked up, with a curious look in her eye, at Lucy. "What do you do, anyways?"

"I'm a Stellar Spirit Mage." Lucy pulled out her ring of keys. She quickly found Plue's key. "Open the gate to the Canis Minor, Nicola!" Lucy pocketed the key again as Plue appeared in front of them and dropped down to the ground.

"Wow, what is it?" Marie picked Plue up hesitantly.

A grin spread across Lucy's face. "His name is Plue. He's a Stellar Spirit and I'm his summoner." Marie looked down at Plue and smiled.

"He's really cute! Are all Stellar Spirits this cute?" Marie snuggled her face into Plue's.

"Most of them." Lucy answered thinking of Loki, then of Taurus.

The conversation pretty much died after that and the whole group was silent for the next half hour. Everyone was just too exhausted to talk. The sun had disappeared beyond the trees, leaving the forest completely dark. Jeanette used a magic that Lucy didn't recognize to illuminate their path. Eventually they reached a clearing and Jeanette deemed it the perfect place for a camp.

Everything was set up about forty five minutes later. There were three tents set up. One for Jeanette and the students, one for Gray and one for Lucy. Jeanette's tent was set up in the middle of the clearing. Gray's tent was put in font to protect the entrance and Lucy's tent to protect the back.

All seven of the mages were gathered around a campfire, sitting on jackets or rolled up sleeping bags.

Gray glared into the orange flame, feeling a deep unrest rising in his chest. Gray remembered back to when he went in between Natsu and Lucy when they were fighting. An image of Natsu's face, looking completely crushed for that one second, played in Gray's mind. He felt really guilty. It wasn't his fault that it happened, Gray just wanted both of his friends to be happy again. Well, at least he just didn't want Lucy to cry.

Thinking about Lucy was always a dangerous thing for Gray. His subconscious would come up with nasty images or would want to scream his deepest darkest secrets. _It's probably better that Lucy and I don't sleep in the same tent anyways._ Gray thought and heaved a huge sigh.

"Hey are you, okay, Gray?" Lucy's voice broke through the haze of his thoughts. Gray looked up at Lucy with a bemused expression and Lucy slid down to sit next to him. He cocked an eyebrow and Gray saw her serious expression break for a millisecond.

"Yeah, fine." Gray said looking down at his bare feet. When had he taken off his shoes? Gray couldn't remember. He shook his head then looked over at Lucy, who had her hair down and was in pajamas. Then looked back at the fire, still feeling slightly guilty. "Why?" He asked, sounding absent.

Lucy mockingly scratched her chin, in an attempt to look like she were thinking. "Hmmm. I don't know. I guess you just look really down in the dumps. Also you keep sighing and you won't look me in the eye. What's the matter?" She leaned down so that her face was directly in front of his. He recoiled back a little and Lucy pursed her lips. "Did I do something wrong?"

Gray abruptly stood up. "I just don't know, Lucy. Okay?" He stomped off to his tent leaving Lucy sitting there on the grass staring after him with a bewildered and hurt expression on her face.

* * *

**A/N: Blargh. My head hurts. Sorry for the late update. I've had a lot of school work lately. Finals :P**

**Well thanks for reading. Don't forget to review.**

**LotsaLove**

**:D**

**-LuanrStar  
**


	5. SC 01: Erza's Diary

Special Chapter 01:

_e r z a ' s d i a r y_

**Erza's POV**

How ridiculous, is this?

Me, keeping a diary?

I remember just today Mirajane was explaining the usefulness of one, or maybe she was just defending the fact that she herself had one. Although, she did make a few good points.

1) A diary helps you vent your feelings (without hurting anyone.)

2) A diary helps keep a record of what goes on in your life (why would I want anyone to know? I have no idea.)

3) A diary helps you get a better understanding of what's happening your life.

For reasons 1 and 3 I am making this and frankly I don't see how either makes sense. Well here goes nothing.

I picked up the pen that Mirajane gave me and started writing down the ridiculous start to my diary.

_Dear Diary,_

_Sometimes I just don't understand Natsu._

_How can he just so openly express any emotion but when it comes down to how he really feels he keeps a lock on it? _

_For example, when Lucy accused him and started crying, he showed frustration and anger when he actually felt sad and hurt. _

_Plus when I asked, or more accused, him of being in love with Lucy he denied it. Then out of nowhere he starts going off on his abandonment issues. I felt bad for him, though. I'm almost completely positive that Lucy thinks of Natsu as her best friend. He's always been there for her but I don't think she has ever really thought of him that way before. Maybe if she just knew how he felt she might come around._

I mentally cringed at the thought and put the pen down for a second. I sighed, picked up the pen and started writing again.

_Is it selfish of me to not want them together?_

_I want Natsu to be happy, but what about . . . ._

I frowned.

_what about me?_

_Would, I, myself being with Natsu make everything better?_

_But for who exactly?_

_For me?_

_For Natsu?_

_For Lucy?_

_Natsu wants Lucy. Lucy doesn't want Natsu. Do I want Natsu? _

_Do I love Natsu?_

_Yes . . . .  
_

_When did that happen?_

_Thinking about it, maybe I have all along._

_Natsu is a lovable person. He's always so warm, and not in just a literal sense either. He's kind and caring. He loves people easily and doesn't take anyone's crap. And what I like most about him is that he's strong enough to carry the burden that I am. And the ones that I carry (not that he has to.)_

_All in all, Natsu is a dependable person._

_And that may just be he end of him. _

_He can only take so much. _

_His problems plus everyone else's. _

_Is that what I would be for Natsu, a problem?_

_-Erza_

I couldn't bring myself to write anymore. Mirajane was right. Completely, utterly right. And yet for some reason, I didn't feel any better about it. Wasn't writing a diary supposed to help ease pain and confusion?

_

* * *

_

**A/N: Awww so sad. Poor Erza, poor Natsu.**

**When will the depression end?!**

**Probably not anytime soon. Sorry.**

_LotsaLove_

_:D_

_-LuanrStar_


	6. Sense of Self

Chapter Five:

Natsu slept awkwardly against a thick tree. He hadn't meant to fall asleep against the tree, or meant to go to sleep in the first place, but he'd just got tired from running for hours on end. He would have stopped running earlier than he did but he liked the way running felt. The physical exertion cleared his thoughts pretty well, and when he leaned against a tree for a rest, all that exhaustion the mental and the physical caught up with him. Then he obviously; like the human he was passed out.

Natsu slowly woke up to a hand, or more accurately a paw, at his shoulder.

Natsu opened his eyes to see Happy hovering inches from his face. His first reaction was to move his face back and his second was out of confusion for why Happy was waking him up and why his neck hurt so gosh darned much.

Then he remembered where he was and what happened. He felt his heart lurch and his stomach retch.

"Why are you here, Happy?" Natsu asked, sounding groggy and far off.

A weird expression that Natsu couldn't understand crossed Happy's face. "Natsu, I'm really worried about you." Happy grimaced and stared at Natsu with a pleading look. Not exactly sure what he was pleading for, though.

"Happy," Natsu half groaned. "There's no need to worry for me." Natsu looked down at the ground. "I just feel a little down in the dumps, you know what I mean?"

Happy nodded grimly. "H-How long do you plan on running for?" Happy asked, although he meant 'how long until you're back at Fairy Tail?'

Natsu scratched the back of his head, wondering if he should just go back to Fairy Tail and apologize for his actions.

"I don't know Happy." Natsu heaved a heavy sigh. "Did you know that running over ten miles in a day is kind of tiring?" Natsu laughed a little at his own stupidity. "I don't want to go anywhere else. But I need to escape for a little while, if you know what I mean?" This time it was Natsu's turn to look at Happy with pleading eyes.

Happy nodded another morbid yes.

"Thanks Happy, you're a good friend." Then Natsu pulled Happy into a tight bear hug.

"Now, if you don't mind I'd like a little sleep." Natsu yawned.

Happy smiled wide and flew away leaving Natsu to the tree he was currently leaning against.

Natsu felt relieved when he couldn't see Happy anymore.

Natsu stood up. "I'm so sorry, Happy." And then he continued his run. This time hoping not only to leave everything behind but to forget himself completely.

* * *

**A/N: You wanted me to include Happy. There you go. I just suddenly had the idea and thought it was pretty good. Yet still depressing.**

**Every chapter is increasingly sadder than the last.**

**You know what. Next chapter is going to be happy. I promise. Although, maybe I should have made this one happy just to make a sort of pun. That would have been fun. Oh! A rhyme! Cool :D**

_LotsaLove_

_:D_

_-LuanrStar  
_


	7. From Hell to Heaven

C h a p t e r S i x :

Lucy had never been this scared before in her entire lifetime. Of course there had been occasions where she really felt like she was going to die, or hideously injured. But this was different. She was completely alone in the dark and there was this nagging feeling that she wasn't. And that in itself was just plain creepy.

A weird buzzing sound hummed close to her ear. A cold shiver ran down the length of Lucy's spine and she jumped up from her sleeping bag. She hit her head on the ceiling of the tent and let out a small line of curses. When she finally calmed down she decided to leave the tent. Of course she wouldn't leave her post as watch duty but she definitely didn't want to be in that enclosed space with a bunch of insects. No, siree.

Lucy brought out a blanket with her and sat down, leaning against the tent. Her breath accumulated in the crisp; cold air. Man, was it freezing outside. Lucy just sighed and thought back to Gray.

What had she done to him to make him so angry?

What had she said?

Did she do anything at all?

Lucy felt herself get angrier and angrier as the minutes wore on by.

_No use worrying about spilled milk. Just water under the bridge._ Lucy tried to calm herself down. It worked rather slowly because her mind would wander back to the subject just as she was about to rid it all. _Just go to sleep._ She commanded herself after little success. Feeling slightly stupid, she eventually eased her shoulders a little and leaned further into the tent.

More time passed and she nodded off into a light sleep.

- - - - - -

_A man in all black stood in front of Lucy. He offered her a hand that she took hesitantly into her darkly gloved hand. His huge fingers crushed her small; thin and brittle ones. She tried to pull away but found it impossible._

_The guy was beautiful, Lucy noticed as she took his face in._

_He had semi- long sandy brown hair that looked somewhat light compared to his all black suit and tie. His eyes were strange, yet still held that same ethereal beauty. His eyes were black and rimmed with a bloody red. _

_Dangerous. That's how Lucy saw him. No matter how beautiful, he gave off the air of danger._

_He flashed huge white teeth at her. Even his teeth were perfect._

_Lucy smiled back, but it came out as a slight grimace. "Who are you?" She finally got the courage to ask._

_His smile widened to a very scary grin. "I'm the end . . . for you. That's all you need to know."_

_Lucy started to shake with fear. She suddenly felt so cold._

_The man disappeared right before her eyes and his death lock hand no longer grasped hers. Then she felt another hand but this time at her ankle._

_She looked down and noticed a boy smeared with blood._

_As she looked past the red she noticed the features. It was Gray._

_She stifled a scream with both hands._

_"G-Gray?"_

_"Lucy . . ." He struggled to get out past his cut windpipe. "Please just you live." Gray passed on.  
_

_That's when Lucy noticed the bloody battered bodies surrounding them._

_It was everyone from Fairy Tail._

_And this time Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs._

- - - - -

"Lucy!" Gray shouted loudly over Lucy's screams of anguish. She was sleeping and having a horrible nightmare. "Lucy, please wake up." He pleaded. "You'll wake everyone else up." Although, he figured that everyone was probably already awake.

Lucy writhed and moaned like she was in a lot of pain. Gray furrowed his brow and started to shake her. "Please wake up." He pleaded.

Lucy's back arched and her eyes snapped open. "G-Gray?" She asked sounding bewildered and scared, but mostly scared.

"Lucy," Gray stroked her hair lightly. "It was just a bad dream, hunn. You're okay now." Lucy shut her eyes from relief.

Lucy was about to open her mouth to speak but changed her mind.

She reached up and snaked her arms around Gray's neck. Gray reacted by pulling her further into his lap and hugging her. Gray felt her hot breath on his ear and goosebumps broke out all over his body. "I'm glad you're alive." She whispered and kissed his ear. A slight flush rose to Gray's cheeks. He couldn't believe that this was happening.

"Of course I'm alive, Lucy." Gray whispered back in the same lush tone. "Is that what you were having a dream about? My death?" Gray felt Lucy shudder in his arms. "Well, I'm fine." He reassured her and she nodded.

Lucy looked up into Gray's dark eyes. "You're alive." She stated, almost as if by saying it out loud that she could really confirm it.

"And so are you." He glanced into her chocolate brown eyes and grinned a slow, sly smile. "And since we're both alive, do you want to do what lively people do?" Gray suggested making his voice as seductive as he possibly could.

Lucy blushed beat red. She scrambled out of his arms. "Um . . . er . . . no . . thank you." Lucy sputtered, her face red hot.

Gray just laughed. "There's the Lucy I know." He chucked her chin and stood up and walked back to his tent.


	8. SC 02: Simple Conversation

**Author's Note: I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD! ***laughs menacingly and shakes off the rust* **So now that I have returned I thought I should start this story back up, so enjoy :D**

**This is a fluff filler chapter, and once I get over the terrible writer's block for this story I swear I will get back on track.  
**

Special Chapter 02_:_

_s i m p l e c o n v e r s a t i o n_

_- - - - - - - - - -  
_

Greg opened his eyes reluctantly. He wasn't ready to wake up yet.

He looked around to see what had woken him up and noticed that everyone was still asleep.

_What the heck woke me up then?_

He sensed that it was still night and he pulled his pillow over his face. _Now I'll never get back to sleep . . ._ He whined and pouted. There was a stirring in the sleeping bag next to him so he lifted the pillow from his face. Greg saw Marie's head of golden locks pop out from the top of the covers and sighed. _Why of all the people to wake up with me it had to be her?_

"Can't sleep either?" Marie whispered.

Greg grunted. "I just woke up and I have no idea why?" He crossed his arm under the blankets.

Marie shushed him with her finger. "It's because Lucy had a bad dream and was really noisy."Greg didn't make a sound but made an "o" shape with his mouth. Marie's emerald green eyes had a serious set to them and Greg couldn't tell why, but his gut feeling told him that she felt quite worried about Lucy.

"Is she alright?" Greg asked quietly.

Marie nodded her head, sending her golden hair flying in a way that was somewhat cute in Greg's opinion. "I heard Gray go over and comfort her," she paused and a red flush came to her cheeks as she remembered what he had said to Lucy. "It was a very interesting conversation. I'm surprised Damien and Jeanette slept through it all." Marie yawned then continued. "Eve woke up but she fell back asleep instantly." Greg looked over at Eve's sleeping bag and had a feeling that she was awake still. "I've been awake the whole time though. Then you woke up and now I'm not alone anymore." She smiled and Greg slapped the pillow back over his face.

"Do you ever stop talking?" Greg asked sarcastically slightly muffled through the cushion.

Marie furrowed her eyebrows. "Yes I do."

"Would you right now?"

_I was just trying to make simple conversation . . . . . . _Marie pouted her lips, if possible even more so than before. It wasn't her fault he was so grumpy. She just wanted to be nice, but no he just had to go and tell her to shut up. _How rude! Well, I'll show him rude_!

Greg sensed her emotions instantly and sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry." She snorted and he added, "I just want to sleep."

Marie scoffed. "Fine then, feel free to." She quickly snapped her head away.

_Don't get whip lash. _Greg thought with a slight laugh. "I will."

A few minutes passed and Greg tapped Marie's shoulder, knowing well that she was still awake.

Her head popped out of the sleeping bag. "What do you want?"

Greg smiled and stretched his arms a little. "I'm bored."

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**Author's Note: Wow that was short. Expect the next chapter very soon. I mean it. I'll get to it in a minute. Sorry about the extremely late update but this story will pick up again fast. So please continue to support me. Even if this is just a filler I'd like to hear your feedback about making a couple of Greg and Marie. This chapter was just a random introduction to the couple so I'm sorry if it sucks.  
**

_LotsaLove_

_-LuanrStar  
_


	9. Breakfast of Layers

Author's Note: Hey guys *smiles sheepishly* sorry I put this story on hiatus without notice. Heh heh heh. I had a great deal of writer's block, buuuuuut I've decided to try to pick this one up again because of how popular it was. If this ends badly, I'm very sorry, but I'm trying.

**CHAPTER SEVEN:**

Gray woke up the next morning feeling completely awful. He was tired because he was only able to get in a few hours of sleep**. **_Damn Lucy, I swear, she'll be the death of me._ It was a lot easier for him to blame her for his lack of sleep, but in all honesty it was his own fault. He had stayed up all night thinking about her, Natsu and his own role in the play of things. Being plagued by your own mind wasn't exactly high on Gray's list of to-do things so he decided to just forget about it.

From across the site he could smell breakfast cooking so he let his stomach take over and followed the smell back to the fire pit from the night before. Sitting there by the fire, was everyone except for Jeanette. There was an assortment of different foods, which looked extremely extravagant for only a few kids + Lucy to have made. He cocked a curious eyebrow and Lucy was the first to rise at his arrival.

Upon seeing him, a flush rose to her cheeks, but she played it off and took his hand to pull him to the group. A part of Gray enjoyed being manhandeled by Lucy, but with all his might he tried to ignore the feeling. He loved her hand touching his, it just seemed to feel so right. _Stop it Gray. _He told himself, repeating the notion until it was out of the way enough for him to think and speak clearly, because apparently he had been asked a question to which he had murmured an unintelligent grunt.

Greg began to laugh. _That little fart . . ._ Gray shook his head. "What did you ask?" Gray said to Lucy.

Lucy smiled, she seemed less strained than before, but he could tell that on the inside she was still in emotional turmoil. "I asked if you wanted anything to eat," she elbowed him playfully.

Gray gave her a straight face. "Are you kidding me?" he said with mock anger. "Of course I want something to eat!" He sat down next to her and took a plate of some random food that he didn't even pretend to know what it was. A lot of people don't like to eat when they don't know what they're eating -- Gray wasn't one of those people. Even if he was eating Human meat he probably wouldn't know the difference. Gray grimaced at the gross thought and shuddered.

Lucy noticed his discomfort and frowned. "Is everything okay, Gray? Is the food bad? We tried our hardest . . . "

Gray held up his hand because his mouth was full. He swallowed the delicious food and smiled. "It was nothing, just a weird thought. The food tastes really good." Lucy looked at him skeptically. "I'm not lying, okay?"

She sighed and turned back to her own plate, which she had barely even touched. Gray felt something hit his forehead and looked up to see Greg holding up a precariously empty fork. Before Gray could react Greg was on his feet being obnoxious. "You better like that food! Eve and I worked hard to make it!" He shouted, pointing at Gray angrily. _He reminds me a little too much of Natsu, I'm getting a headache already . . ._ And it wasn't from the fact that he just had food flung at his face.

Gray looked at him incredulously. "You made this?" The shock and surprise was evident on his face.

Greg pretended to be insulted, but then again Gray couldn't really be sure because Greg seemed to be just that dramatic. "I am a complex individual, thank you very much. I'm like an onion or a cake. I HAVE LAYERS!"

Gray rolled his eyes. _Layers of constant stupidity that is . . ._

Damien had the same idea apparently because he sttod up and walked away without a word, in fact, Gray wasn't sure he had really ever heard Damien speak more than words of confirmation. None of the other children seemed to be affected by his blatant ignorance, but Gray and Lucy were fairly surprised by his cold attitude. Gray, attempting to change the sudden change in atmosphere, turned and smiled at Eve. "This food is really good, thank you for making it."

Eve averted her face from the sudden confrontation, trying to hide her embarrassment, which Gray didn't notice and took slight offense. He was about to give up on her when she started to speak. "I didn't do all that much . . . " Eve said sheepishly. "It was mostly, Greg's handiwork."

Greg jumped once again. "Hah! I told you! Layers!"

Gray put up his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay you have layers." Greg smiled, a look of accomplishment spread across his face. "So what are we doing today?" Gray asked standing up. He ot his response from the mages-in-trainigs' teacher, Jeanette, followed by Damien, whom never really seemed to leave her side unless needed.

"Today, we are having our first round of Outdoors Training!"


	10. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey readers! This story has been on hiatus for forever! Buuuuuuuuuuut news for you, I want to continue it. I don't know how many people would read this story if I were to add more, but it seems a few people really enjoyed this story.

I have a few things to say though:

1. I'm re-reading Fairy Tail to re-familiarize my self with the characters.

2. If you think my characters are being too OC-ish let me know, I'll try to tone it down (sorry for emo Natsu, but I love him that way :D)

3. If you think I should re-write the old chapters tell me now before I start on the new ones.

4. If my updates are sparse again you have the right to scream at me.

I'd love to hear your feedback, and if I'm being too presumptuous on how many people actually like this story then I'm sorry for being conceited.

I'll shut up now.

Sooooo yeah, tell me what you think.

BYES! :3


	11. Determination is Key

**_Re - Cap: _**

_Natsu is in love with Lucy and doesn't realize it._

_ Lucy wants to be with someone, but Natsu keeps unconsciously ruining her chances. _

_Fed up, she confronts him about it, and it all goes downhill. _

_Gray comforts Lucy by forming a team with her to go on a mission._

_ Erza comforts Natsu, only to find that he's holding in too much to fix. _

_Erza then realizes she has feelings for him, but it's too late because he's already ran away..._

**C h a p t e r E i g h t :**

_Determination is Key_

Erza stared at the sunrise, her apprehension growing into determination. She picked up her pack and hitched it onto her shoulder. _It's only been a day... _A part of her felt that she was being too rash in going to search for Natsu, but if she let him gain too much distance than any looking for him would be pointless.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and whipped around. Mirajane stood with her hand still awkwardly held in the air. "Yes? Do you need something?" Erza asked strictly, not harshly but her voice was straining, with obvious stress.

A frown spread across Mirajane's face. "I don't need anything in particular . . . " She trailed off in thought, fiddling with her manicured fingers. "Are you going to bring Natsu back?" She asked getting straight to the point, her eyes were hard and unwavering. Erza met Mirajane's gaze with her own.

"Hmmm?" Erza's mind went a little blank, unsure of what to say. _Bring him back? _At this point all she could think about was seeing him again and being able to make him happy. Guilt struck her like the slash of a leather whip. _All I thought about was myself . . . All of Fairy Tail, our nakama, are worried sick about him_. _And now they're relying on ME to bring him back . . ._

"Of course." She smiled down at Mirajane reassuringly, sudden vigor pumping in her veins. "I'm going to bring him back, and then I'm going to kick a good one. From all of us." Mirajane's eyes brightened up, and Erza's heart felt a little lighter.

Erza hadn't been herself since Natsu left, she had been distracted and constantly ran into people and walls. It was a sight to see Erza so messed up and out of it. Now her eyes were clear like the skies. Again, Erza was looking to the future, and there was nothing to stop her from getting what she wanted.

_**-:-**_

With a whip of red hair Erza left the magic shop. In hand she had what was known as a "Magical Tracker." It's a trinket in the shape of a navigation compass, typically used by the common people of Fiore. To get the Magical Tracker to work the user had to have a concrete image of the destination in mind. Although, Erza had no idea where Natsu was (even though she had sent Happy to find him) she believed that if she willed the compass to direct her to Natsu that it would work.

She cleared her mind as she closed her eyes. The image of him started form. First the shape of his body, which gave way to his pants and then his vest. The black and gold contrasted with his tanned skin. Then the scaled scarf put the outfit together. His body definition filled out, with his chest, abs and then his arms and legs. She remembered every crease. Then lastly her favorite part of him began to come into focus. His bright salmon colored hair lay disheveled and unkempt on his scalp like it always had. His eyes were shut from the large smile plastered on his face. _He's smiling at me . . ._ Even the image of him radiated warmth and comfort. Erza wished that it was really him, and that he would be there right in front of her, awaiting with a smile and words of simple yet intimate support.

Pressure built in her nose, and she felt the urge to cry. She missed him so much that her heart began to throb in her chest. She had lost friends and love before, but now the instant void in her heart left her stunned and confused. _Get a grip._ She told herself. She needed to be strong for her friends and for Natsu. She was going to bring him back, whether he liked it or not, and teach him that even if his love isn't returned that there are still those that care . . . and dare she think love him, waiting for his safe return.

Erza opened her eyes and looked down at the Magical Tracker. A blue arrow assimilated in front of her pointing to the West. A wide grin made it's way onto her face. She was going to find Natsu. She was really going to find him. . . ._  
_

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**Author's Note: **I have a slight feeling that maybe my writing style has changed since previous chapters. It has been awhile. I wanted to write more on Lucy and Gray, but I still have obligations to the other couples in this story. So here you go, a well needed Erza chapter. Now that I'm re-reading the series again, I am absolutely in love with Erza's character. The first (x) amount of times I read the series I thought she was a bit of a Mary-Sue, but now I think her character is awesome! No matter what the situation she keeps her eyes on the prize and her head in the game. Although, the more I like a character's trait the more I want to write the exception to the rule and make her vulnerable, but I've changed it so that she is vulnerable but only around Natsu. It creates more of a dynamic as opposed to the normal situations.

Anywhosit, I hope that this was an okay chapter. Hopefully more will come soon :)


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